Council deny accusations of secret ruling on bus firm sale

ACCUSATIONS are being thrown at Caerphilly County Borough Council of claims of withholding information from constituents and denying value for money by taking a decision on a £2.65m bus contract behind closed doors.

ACCUSATIONS are being thrown at Caerphilly County Borough Council of claims of withholding information from constituents and denying value for money by taking a decision on a £2.65m bus contract behind closed doors.

After deciding to sell the smallest remaining municipal bus company in the UK – Islwyn Borough Transport (IBT) – Caerphilly Council approached just one firm – Stagecoach.

Critics say the deal is a bid to recoup some of the £15m it ploughed into an Icelandic bank that later collapsed.

However, council leader Lindsay Whittle described the claims as “wild accusations”.

The council and Stagecoach have agreed the purchase price which includes a substantial area of land and buildings.

But transport tycoon Clayton Jones said by not putting the contract out to public tender, the council failed to get the best value for money.

Mr Jones, who also wants to bid for IBT, has threatened to a judicial review into the decision.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is understood to be launching an external audit into the decision.

“The council must satisfy itself it’s getting value for money – how can it do that if it hasn’t tested the market?” said Mr Jones.

“As far as we are able to ascertain, no independent valuation of the land has been made so how can the council be satisfied it’s getting the best price?”

IBT, whose depot is in Penmaen Road, Blackwood, has 35 vehicles with 47 licences, and runs 18 services including a Blackwood to Bargoed route that takes in Cefn Fforest, Fleur de Lys, Tir-y-Berth and Pengam, a Cardiff to Blackwood service, and school contracts.

In a confidential report, withheld from the public on the grounds of commercial sensitivity but seen by The Rhymney Valley Express’ sister paper the South Wales Echo, council officers state: “A full auction process can fully test the market and is often the preferred choice.

“However, in the bus industry auction processes have been noted as eroding the value of the business being sold.”

If Stagecoach does acquire IBT, it will have a 90% stake in the local market.

The report says Stagecoach will avoid compulsory redundancies for drivers and maintenance staff for two years but the reduction of supervisory and administrative staff will be inevitable through early retirement, redeployment and voluntary redundancy.

Coun Whittle said: “This deal is about saving 63 jobs and 19 routes. All leaders of the political parties on the council were consulted on the process and agreed. Independent advice on how the IBT board should deal with this matter was taken from Deloitte, known for their commitment to the public interest.

“The deal is subject to scrutiny by the Office of Fair Trading who, if they had any doubt in the manner in which any party was conducting themselves in this sale, would be able to take action.

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.